#1
Brilliantly done Mr. Hanson. I would suggest adding the following to our witnessing:
A statist, progressive assault on American Constitution-based values, an attack that has steadily snowballed since President Roosevelts New Deal of the 1930's has been unmasked as classic socialist tyranny through the blunderings of a mysterious community organizer with a Muslim name.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of it victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satisfied; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with approval of their own conscience."
C.S. Lewis, God in the Dark: Essays on Theology and Ethics, ed. Walter Hooper (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1994, 292.
#5
He wasn't speaking as a pol but rather as the head of an establish fracking company looking to keep cheap corner-cutting competition from poisoning the public acceptance of this method IIUC.
[Dawn] NO one should be less surprised than us Paks at the unfolding political drama in Egypt. Suddenly, a nation groaning under authoritarian rule for nearly six decades is grappling with the task of self-governance. How key players behave under the circumstances is familiar to us. Generals who have tasted power have no intention of parting with it; leaders elected by the people hope legitimately to be in the saddle; the judiciary enjoys its newly gained freedom and proves itself to be a stickler for the letter of the law. On Tuesday, the Supreme Constitutional Court annulled President Mohammad Morsi's decree calling for the assembly to meet. The newly elected assembly was dissolved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after the constitutional court declared it illegal on technical grounds. Going against what appears to be a common move by the generals and the judges, the president chose to convene the assembly.
From the very beginning President Morsi has been hamstrung by the generals' ploys, for the dissolution of the assembly meant he would not be able to pursue his legislative agenda and lawmaking would be done by Scaf by decree. The generals, headed by Field Marshal Hussain Tantawi, have already told President Morsi it is they who will make the budget. More painfully, a new general election cannot be held unless a new constitution is made, and that should take at least another year. This means, if President Morsi still decides to stay on in the presidential palace, Egypt will for all practical purposes continue to be ruled by the military in spite of all that has happened since the anti-Mubarak uprising began in January 2011.
There are two aspects of the present situation: one is the struggle between democratic forces and a military addicted to power; the other is the political forces' polarisation between the Islamists and secularists. The result of the run-off in the presidential election showed that a sizable section of the Egyptian people believe in a pluralistic society. Their fears that the Brotherhood may turn Egypt into a theocracy deserves to be addressed. That's the reason why many of them are not averse to collaborating with the military. This is a big mistake, and emphasises the need for President Morsi and his Freedom and Justice Party to take the secularists along in the effort to eliminate the military's role. Egyptians should learn from Pakistain's example and realise that the transition from authoritarianism to democracy entails decades of setbacks and sacrifices, and that it is not so easy to push a power-hungry military back to the barracks.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/13/2012 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
#1
I think the writer has the right idea, but has confused the players. If the Brothers accept the secularists to oust the Generals, it'll only be a marriage of convenience.
It'll be the islamists that are hardest to return to their book.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/13/2012 5:56 Comments ||
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#2
"...There are two aspects of the present situation: one is the struggle between democratic forces and a military addicted to power; the other is the political forces' polarisation between the Islamists and secularists.."
This is basically wishful thinking.
The Islamists (counting all brands) have about 80% of the legislature plus the Presidency. The Nationalists and nutcase socialists (again counting all brands) have about 15%. That leaves only about 5% for secularists.
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/13/2012 8:23 Comments ||
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#4
The Islamists (counting all brands) have about 80% of the legislature plus the Presidency. The Nationalists and nutcase socialists (again counting all brands) have about 15%. That leaves only about 5% for secularists.
Not to mention the unasked question: what percentage of the Egyptian army, more particularly the professional officer corps, are Islamists of one flavour or another? We can assume that the draftee percentages hew closely to civilian numbers.
#3
Would be a very shrewd move, executive wise. Romney is indeed a classic American Business man/capitalist. Rice is a proven Executive Branch commodity.
Massive debt, rasing prices/taxes/unemplyment increases, if the US government was a true US corporation, the CEO Obama would be fired by now.
#4
Ramesh Ponnuru at the Corner has 11 reasons why this would be a disaster. After reading them I agree. I like Condi, I think she's a great person, but she shouldn't be VP. Let Romney find another good position for her in his administration.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/13/2012 11:37 Comments ||
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#5
he should make head-fakes to a bunch of different people, and keep the Dem oppo-researchers busy and off-balance in their messaging
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/13/2012 11:44 Comments ||
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#6
Condi already said she wouldn't be interested or serve a while back, so dunno where the speculation is coming from.
#7
IMO, one side sees her as Republican "aunt Thomasina", whereas the other must be sick and tired of promoting incompetents in the name of affirmative action.
#8
I doubt that she would submit herself to the torrent of filth and abuse that will be unleashed by the American press on any Republican vp nominee. It's too bad because she has a clearer view of the world than anyone on the American political scene and the requisite steel in her backbone to deal with it. Personally, I would rather the ticket be Rice - Romney instead of Romney - Rice.
#11
Ramesh Ponnuru at the Corner has 11 reasons why this would be a disaster.
Is there anyone that out there that won't be savaged by [pick your choice] the liberal, conservative, MSM, etc for the position anymore than all are doing now on the Presidential candidate? You can be near perfect and someone will still crucify you. You've already lost when you allow others make you fear rather then install fear in others.
#14
This comes off right after the NAACP thing and it has to be freaking the Dems out. Let them dig for dirt and waste their time and money and possibly say some things that are hard to take back later while Romeny properly vets his choice.
I like Condi, but she says she doesn't want it and at this point I'll take her word for it.
#15
@#11: Sure, there's always someone out there who won't like what you do. I thought Ponnuru's reasons were persuasive.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/13/2012 15:28 Comments ||
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#16
Romney could do well to put out a number of head fakes to keep BO busy and spending money on will-o-the-wisps.
I like Condi also but there were times I did not think she was tough enough when Sec. of State. This bodes to be a very rough, lying, dirty campaign on the part of the Donks.
Personally, with all the dismantling of our country that has gone on in the past 3-1/2 years, I'd like to see someone in the Veep spot with executive experience (current or former successful governor) that Romney could feel confident in delegating to and it would get done.
#18
Saw Rice at SMU giving the graduation address. Wow, just plain wow. She received a standing ovation and I kept thinking that there was the Presidential candidate that the Republicans are always looking for. She won't run with him. Too dirty and abusive by a half and that's just a shame.
Posted by: Total War ||
07/13/2012 16:29 Comments ||
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#19
I vote for Bolton, that would be awesome. You can just /FEEL/ heads exploding with that one. I doubt Romney has the spine to name Bolton Sec. of State.
On another note, I completed HUET training yesterday. Odd how getting out upside down is easier for some weird reason.
Peggy the Oracle speaks on the 'ennui' of the election. There's no enthusiasm for either candidate because we can't get to know them, and they can't translate their inner language to ours, etc. It's their fault, it's our fault, and Peggy is one of the few wise enough to see this.
She then allows that if Condi Rice were to be Mitt's VP pick that would get the enthusiasm back into the election.
Boy howdy, what would we do without Peggy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/13/2012 00:00 ||
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[11128 views]
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#1
A black woman in a campaign that always threatens to take on a painful racial overlay. A foreign-policy professional acquainted with everyone who's reigned or been rising the past 20 years.
Ahg....we've aleady a "reigning black".... isn't that quite enough?
#4
She jumped the shark a few years ago when she got tired of the iraq war for fairly flighty reasons. She showed herself unserious and very much part of the wahington establishment at every opportunity since. Shes been riding on Reagans coattails for decades but shes not a free thinker but a free rider.
#5
Someone pointed out that Condi is "too much of a girl" to be VP. They have a point: if pressed, she would rise to the occasion and perform magnificently, but would have to lose qualities that make her who she is and which she values more than the "bennies" that comes with power.
Jesus posed the question, "what does it profit a man (i.e. person) if they gain the whole world but lose their own soul?" The problem is that the highest offices are so plagued by backbiters and back-seat drivers (made more nasty by their profound ignorance of the directions and by their resentment at being ignored) that they practically require that office holders lose their soul.
Condi counted the cost and said "No thanks." Good for her: She and Trailing Wife are the kind of women who are best appreciated by being left to pursue their goals in their own unique way, and we would be losers if we unwisely take advantage of their grace.
#7
I would love to see Condi as the Vp nomination. I think it would be good for the country to force race baiters into contortions after all Barrack has inflicted on the black community and shes got the foreign policy/security chops that Romney is missing.
#8
Condi as VP is a plus for me. I know she has her faults, but if she is in, the election isn't about race, or feminism, it's only about the economy and where the hell we are going as a country.
Maybe I'm a little optimistic after reading VDH's column.
#10
I was never a big fan of Condi. Especially after she told Israel to hold off attacking their attackers a few days to give the "innocent civilians" time to stop acting as human shields in the last spat with Lebanon. She's about as "conservative" as W was.
#12
You are ever gallant, Ptah, thank you. I quite agree with your diagnosis of Ms Rice. As an advisor she was wonderful, as a Secretary of State she was considerably better than either her predecessor or her successor, neither of whom got Israel right either. But she does not have the characteristics of a successful politician...or even an unsuccessful one. At core she is a creature of academia.
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[Dawn] NO one should be less surprised than us Paks at the unfolding political drama in Egypt. Suddenly, a nation groaning under authoritarian rule for nearly six decades is grappling with the task of self-governance. How key players behave under the circumstances is familiar to us. Generals who have tasted power have no intention of parting with it; leaders elected by the people hope legitimately to be in the saddle; the judiciary enjoys its newly gained freedom and proves itself to be a stickler for the letter of the law. On Tuesday, the Supreme Constitutional Court annulled President Mohammad Morsi's decree calling for the assembly to meet. The newly elected assembly was dissolved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after the constitutional court declared it illegal on technical grounds. Going against what appears to be a common move by the generals and the judges, the president chose to convene the assembly.
